Track and field arena

ABSTRACT

A track and field arena having internationally approved performing areas enabling the same event to take place, even simultaneous, at more than one station. The arena has an oval track with at least six lanes, at least two straightaway tracks each having at least six lanes, at least two high jump stations and at least two long jump/triple jump located so that all can be utilized without interfering with other events. Two out-of-oval shot put stations are also provided. The arena roof design has no forward support pillars that could make viewing the ongoing events difficult for some spectators.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a sports complex and more particularly to a track and field arena having multiple stations for similar events.

2. Description of Prior Art

Track and field events usually take an extended period of time to complete particularly if the event has male and female participants or classes of participants by age. The arenas or stadiums where track and field events are held are traditionally configured to provide an oval track, a straightaway track and high jump, long jump/triple jump, pole vault and shot put stations. With only one station being available, the participants go one-by-one to each station and participate only after the preceding participants have participated and passed through the station. There are a number of athletes participating at each event station, and that number can increase significantly should the event have male and female participants.

The time involved in conducting a traditional track and field event can take most of a day and even extend to another day. It can be a long and tedious ordeal for spectators to stay for the entire event. The wait time for the participants become tedious since there is often a fairly long wait until the next opportunity to participate and the participating athlete can cool down and lose a competitive edge as these delays occur.

There is a need to find a way to shorten the time to complete the track and field events so that they are completed within a reasonable time. Doing so will encourage spectators to stay through the entire event rather than just for the time his or her appearance when their son or daughter competes. It is to this need that the present invention is directed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to a track and field arena having internationally approved traffic and field event performing areas so that the same event may take place at more than one station. The arena embracing the invention has an oval track having at least six lanes, at least two straightaway tracks each having at least six lanes, at least two high jump stations and at least two long jump/triple jump stations located so that each can be utilized competitively without interfering with the other and with competitively active oval and straightaway tracks. Dual out-of-oval track shot put stations are also provided. The design of the arena will be such the roof will not require support pillars that could make viewing the event difficult for some spectators.

The invention also includes a method of conducting a track and field meet having oval and straightaway running events, relay events and field events with the method including the steps of having at least two straightaway running events, two high jump events, two long jump/triple jump events, two pole vault events and two shot put events conducted simultaneously.

From the foregoing summary, it will be apparent that a primary objective of the present invention is to provide a track and field arena designed to accommodate similar events at more than one station.

Another objective of the present invention is to conduct track and field events at multiple similar stations so that the active time for conducting the entire meet is considerably less than the time needed for conducting a conventional and traditional track and field meet.

Yet another objective of the present invention is to permit the simultaneous participation by both men and women which again results in a significantly greater savings of time than is usually the case in conventional track and field events.

Thus there has been outlined the more important features of the invention in order that the detailed description that follows may be better understood and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are, of course, additional features of the invention that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto. In that respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its arrangement of the components set forth in the following description and illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways.

It is also to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting in any respect. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the concept upon which this disclosure is based may readily be utilized as a basis for designing other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of this development. It is important that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent methods and products resulting therefrom that do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention. The application is neither intended to define the invention of the application, which is measured by its claims, nor to limit its scope in any way.

Thus, the objectives of the invention set forth above, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the invention, are noted with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention, its operating advantages and the specific results obtained by its use, reference should be made to the following detailed specification taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein like characters of reference designate like parts throughout the several views.

The drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification. They illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with their description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of the proposed arena showing the layout of the stations for straightaway sprints or other running events, pole vault, high jump, long jump/triple jump and shot put events.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF) is the world governing body of track and field. All countries around the world hold meets that follow the rules and sanctions established by IAAF. With these rules being followed, the meets are sanctioned and record set is recognized.

Some standard track rules for indoor track design embody certain dimensions. With respect to the number of lanes on the oval track, only six have been approved for races. There is an attempt to get eight authorized, however this has not yet been done. An oval track lane width is 39 inches. For the field event runways, the track width is 48 inches. The oval track's width or tightness of curve is a maximum of 19 meters (radius).

With respect to the meets themselves, all meets on all levels have field events for both men and women competition. These events are high jump, long jump/triple jump, pole vault and shot put. The following listing is of track meet events for all levels of track and field in the United States. High School Collegiate World Class Field Events Field Events Field Events High Jump High Jump High Jump Long Jump/ Long Jump/Triple Jump Long Jump/Triple Jump Triple Jump Pole Vault Pole Vault Pole Vault Shot Put Shot Put/Weight Throw Shot Put/Weight Throw Running Events Running Events Running Events  55 m Dash  60 m Dash  60 m Dash  55 m High  60 m High Hurdles  60 m High Hurdles Hurdles  300 m Dash  200 m Dash  200 m Dash  500 m Dash  400 m Dash  400 m Dash 1000 m Run  800 m Run  800 m Run 1600 m/Mile Run Mile Run 1500 m Run 3200 m/2 Mile Run   2 Mile Run 3000 m Run  300 m run 5000 m Run 5000 m Run 3000 m Race Walk 5000 m Race Walk Relay Events Relay Events Relay Events 4 × 200 m Distance Medley Relay 4 × 200 m 4 × 400 m 4 × 400 m Distance Medley Relay 4 × 800 m 4 × 400 m

The track design embodying the present invention is totally unique having two long jumps/triple jumps, two high jumps, two pole vaults and two shot puts. This arrangement allows both men and women to compete in their events without having to wait for the other to finish. The double eight lanes straight away track will allow both men and women to compete at the same time in the sprinting events and will allow for optimum efficiency for a track meet to be run.

The track design fits inside the width of the oval track which will allow the buildings where the tracks are built to avoid extra width and therefore unable the elimination of vertical supports. In that regard, the width of a building is very important. The ceiling or roof can only be so wide without beams or support to hold them up. The wider a building is without supports to hold the roof up, the more difficult it is to build and the more it will cost. Building can be built very long without difficulty, however a wider than normal structure can be difficult to master.

Referring now to the drawings and particularly to FIG. 1, the oval track 10 has eight lines and part of each side of the oval track forms a portion of the straight-aways where sprints and other track events are held. Since there are two of these stations, men and women events can take place at the same time.

There are two pole vault locations 14 two pole facilities 16, two high jump areas 18 and two shot put stations 20. Note that shot put stations are used so that each station is directing shot in the direction away from the adjacent station.

From the preceding description, it can be seen that a novel arena design has been provided that will meet all of the advantages of prior art devices and offer additional advantages not heretofore achievable. With respect to the foregoing motion, the optimum dimensional relationship to parts of the invention including variations of size, materials, shape, form, function, and manner of operation, use and assembly are deemed readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships illustrated in the drawings and described in the specifications are intended to be encompassed herein.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, and it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described. All suitable modifications and equivalents that fall within the scope of the appended claims are deemed within the present inventive concept. 

1. A track and field arena having internationally approved track and field event performing areas including multilane oval and straightaway tracks, high jump and long jump/triple jump stations and pole vault and shot put stations, the arena comprising: an oval track having two turns of a required inside radius and at least six lanes; at least two straightaway tracks each having at least six lanes; at least two high jump stations and at least two long jump/triple jump stations located so each can be utilized competitively without interfering with the other and with competitively active oval and straightaway tracks; at least two pole vault stations located so each can be utilized competitively without interfering with the other and with competitively active oval and straightaway tracks and competitively active pole vault stations; and at least two shot put stations located so each can be utilized competitively without interfering with the other, with competitively active oval and straightaway tracks and competitively active pole vault stations, the tracks and the stations being arranged to accommodate at least two participants on one of the at least two tracks and stations engaging in the same event at the same time with two of the other participants on another of the at least two tracks and stations.
 2. The arena as claimed in claim 1 wherein the at least two long jump/triple jump stations, the at least two pole vault stations and the at least two high jump stations are located inside the oval track.
 3. The arena as claimed in claim 1 wherein the at least two shot put stations are located outside the oval track.
 4. The arena as claimed in claim 1 wherein the tracks and the field event stations are covered by an arena roof.
 5. The arena as claimed in claim 3 wherein the tracks and the field event stations are covered by an arena roof.
 6. The arena as claimed in claim 4 wherein the arena roof is without vertical support members within the oval and straightaway tracks and the field event stations.
 7. The arena as claimed in claim 5 wherein the arena roof is without vertical support members within the oval and straightaway tracks and the field event stations.
 8. A method of conducting a track and field meet having oval and straightaway running events, relay events and field events, the method comprising the steps of: conducting at least two straightaway running events at the same time.
 9. The method as claimed in claim 8 wherein at least two long jump/triple jump events are conducted at the same time.
 10. The method as claimed in claim 9 wherein at least two pole vault events are conducted at the same time.
 11. The method as claimed in claim 8 wherein one of the at least two straightaway running events features male participants and the other of the at least two straightaway running events features female participants.
 12. The method as claimed in claim 9 wherein one of the at least two long jump/triple jump events features two or more male participants and the other of the at least two long jump/triple jump events features two or more female participants.
 13. The method as claimed in claim 10 wherein one of the at least two pole vault events features male participants and the other of the at least two pole vault events features female participants.
 14. The method as claimed in claim 10 wherein the at least two shot put events are conducted at the same time.
 15. The method as claimed in claim 14 wherein the at least two high jump events are conducted at the same time.
 16. The method as claimed in claim 14 wherein one of the at least two shot put events features male participants and the other of the least two shot put events features female participants.
 17. A method of conducting a track and field meet having oval and straightaway running events, relay events and field events, the method comprising the steps of: having the at least two straightaway running events, the at least two relay events and the at least two field events conducted at the same time to reduce the time needed to complete the meet at least by 40 percent. 